Success Stories

SBA Names Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business As 2016 Eastern Pa. Veteran-Owned Small Business of Year

Pictured: Owner and CEO John McGeehan and his son, President Gavin McGeehan, of Gaver Industries, Inc. are interviewed by a local television reporter at the after SBA Eastern Pennsylvania Director Antonio (Tony) Leta officially introduced their firm as Eastern Pennsylvania’s Veteran-Owned Business of the Year.

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA– Gaver Industries, Inc. is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (SDVOSB) asphalt paving contractor serving the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. Previously known as Barker & Barker Corp., since McGeehan purchased it in 2009 the firm has sustained significant growth with an average of 20% a year for the last five years.

McGeehan has been a client of the Lehigh University Small Business Development Center since 2007, receiving assistance for purchasing the nominated business, obtaining government... Read More

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA – Today, Vivian Isaak’s Magnum Group, Inc. is a full-service multilingual communications company whose mission is to help companies expand internationally through accurate, timely and comprehensive language services. The firm will be celebrating its 25th year in business this year, clearly proof of its staying power. From its Philadelphia headquarters, Magnum taps into a global network of over 2,500 translators, language specialists and subject matter experts – all highly vetted and credentialed – to produce translations and multimedia content. The road to business success in Philadelphia was not an easy one, however.

Mifflintown, Pa. business named as SBA Eastern Pa. 2016 Family-Owned Small Business of Year

Pictured: Owners Ryan, Dennis, Nancy and Michael McFarland credit much of their family-owned business success to the assistance of SBA resource partner Penn State SBDC.

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA– It has been roughly 15 years since Buttonwood Campground, a Mifflintown, Pa. family-run business, began working with SBA resource partner Penn State Small Business Development Center. Dennis McFarland proudly notes that in that time, Buttonwood has indeed grown into a true ‘family affair’ with his adult sons, Michael and Ryan (Air Force and Reserves) who returned to the area to help run the complex operation. Owners Dennis, Nancy, Ryan and Michael McFarland credit much of their success to the Penn State SBDC.

“If it wasn’t for the SBDC, we wouldn’t be here today. They understood our vision and helped us get there,” Ryan McFarland said.